Football coaches Fisher DeBerry of Air Force, left, and Dan Hawkins of Colorado meet Wednesday in Colorado Springs before speaking at the annual kickoff luncheon sponsored by the Colorado Springs Sports Corp.

Colorado Springs – The idea of a renewal of the Colorado-Air Force football series is fast becoming just that – simply an idea.

Incompatible football schedules may keep the series from commencing until 2013 at the earliest, Air Force vice athletic director Brad DeAustin said Wednesday. Colorado has one-game nonconference openings in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011. Air Force, however, has full nonconference schedules through 2012, DeAustin said.

That would make it impossible for the Buffaloes and Falcons to meet in the near future unless other games were moved around, which while rare is not unheard of.

Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn, who has been pushing to renew the series since being hired in Boulder in April 2005, said it was “premature” and that he “would hate to put a definitive date” on when the game could or could not be played.

“Right now, it’s just become a tough nut,” DeAustin said. “The biggest thing at this point is finding a weekend when we both have availability to play. (AFA athletic director) Dr. Hans Mueh and Mike have been working on this thing for several months.”

But while piecing the schedules together is causing headaches, it isn’t enough of a hassle for either side to give up on the enterprise. Bohn and Mueh have brainstormed to make the game work, and will continue to do so until a solution is found.

The Buffs and Falcons haven’t met since 1974, a 28-27 CU victory at the academy matching coaches Bill Mallory and Ben Martin. The Buffs won the final five games in the series by an average of 24 points, and 12 of 16 overall. It was not a particularly amicable parting for numerous reasons, including tension from the Vietnam War.

Air Force won the series opener, a 20-14 upset in 1958 at Folsom Field, in the last game of CU coach Dal Ward’s tenure. That Thanksgiving weekend result, one week after Colorado State defeated the Buffs 15-14 in the final game of another in-state series for 25 years, played a role in Ward getting fired.

“There’s an interest on the part of our administration and on the part of their administration,” Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry said. “The schedules have gotten so far in advance that being able to match up schedules has been very difficult.”

Said DeAustin: “We’d like to have that series started up again. I think it’s good for the state and would be good for both schools.”

Look for Mac in the mail

Former Buffs coach Bill McCartney has joined Bohn and the CU athletic department’s efforts to sell more season tickets.

McCartney has agreed to draft a letter that will go to CU season-ticket holders who decide not to renew, an effort to convince them to buy back into the program.

“To have Coach Mac be willing to help encourage our fan base and reinforce the importance of their support is huge for us,” Bohn said. “Some magical things happened when he was the head coach. We feel like there’s magical times ahead for us and it would go a lot faster if we can fill seats and build excitement and have people feel good about Colorado football.”

CU’s season-ticket sales dropped from 26,000 in 2001 to just under 20,000 in 2005.

Three-year building plan

Six weeks before the start of football practice, new CU coach Dan Hawkins is preaching patience with the growth of the team and the program, saying three years is necessary for a turnaround to take place.

“I just think that we’re going to do some great things, I really do,” Hawkins said. “I just look at where we’re going, the leadership and how everything is lining up and the way we’re gaining momentum every day. I just think we’re headed that direction.”

Hawkins said he has received positive reports from players who are working out and going through 7-on-7 drills. Coaches can’t be with the players during workouts, but Hawkins says he text-messages players frequently.

Footnotes

Mullen offensive lineman Shawn Daniels has committed to the Buffs. He is the younger brother of CU senior guard Brian Daniels. … Hawkins has a book on the way that should hit stores sometime in July. It is titled “Hawk: Winning the Right Way.”

This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to an editor’s error, it incorrectly stated that Eddie Crowder coached the Colorado football team in 1974. Bill Mallory was the coach at that time.

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